astronomy

Tarantula Nebula

Tarantula Nebula is a astronomy topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Tarantula Nebula rather than just read about it. In short: The Tarantula Nebula (also known as 30 Doradus) is a large H II region in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), forming its south-east corner (from Earth's perspective). The nebula is named for the arrangement of its bright, glowing gas filaments and dusty tendrils which stretch outward and look like the legs of a tarantula.

Key takeaways

Tarantula Nebula belongs to astronomy; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Tarantula Nebula to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Tarantula Nebula from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Tarantula Nebula (also known as 30 Doradus) is a large H II region in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), forming its south-east corner (from Earth's perspective). The nebula is named for the arrangement of its bright, glowing gas filaments and dusty tendrils which stretch outward and look like the legs of a tarantula.

Discovery The Tarantula Nebula was observed by Nicolas-Louis de Lacaille during an expedition to the Cape of Good Hope between 1751 and 1753. He cataloged it as the second of the "Nebulae of the First Class", "Nebulosities not accompanied by any star visible in the telescope of two feet". It was described as a diffuse nebula 20' across. Johann Bode included the Tarantula in his 1801 Uranographia star atlas and listed it in the accompanying Allgemeine Beschreibung und Nachweisung der Gestirne catalog as number 30 in the constellation "Xiphias or Dorado". Instead of being given a stellar magnitude, it was noted to be nebulous. The name Tarantula Nebula arose in the mid-20th century from its appearance in deep photographic exposures. 30 Doradus has often been treated as the designation of a star, or of the central star cluster NGC 2070, but is now generally treated as referring to the whole nebula area of the Tarantula Nebula.

Properties The Tarantula Nebula has an apparent magnitude of 8. Considering its distance of about 49 kpc (160,000 light-years), this is a highly luminous non-stellar object. Its luminosity is so great that if it were as close to Earth as the Orion Nebula, the Tarantula Nebula would cast visible shadows. In fact, it is the most active starburst region known in the Local Group of galaxies. It is also one of the largest H II regions in the Local Group with an estimated diameter around 200 to 570 pc (650 to 1860 light years), and also because of its enormous size, it is sometimes described as the largest. However, other H II regions, such as NGC 604, which is in the Triangulum Galaxy, could be larger. The nebula resides on the leading edge of the LMC, where ram pressure stripping, and the compression of the interstellar medium likely resulting from this, is at a maximum.

NGC 2070

30 Doradus has at its centre the star cluster NGC 2070 which includes the compact concentration of stars known as R136 that produces most of the energy that makes the nebula visible. The estimated mass of the cluster is 450,000 solar masses, suggesting it will likely become a globular cluster in the future. In addition to NGC 2070, the Tarantula Nebula contains several other star clusters including the much older Hodge 301. The most massive stars of Hodge 301 have already exploded in supernovae.

Supernova 1987A The closest supernova observed since the invention of the telescope, Supernova 1987A, occurred in the outskirts of the Tarantula Nebula. There is a prominent supernova remnant enclosing the open cluster NGC 2060. Still, the remnants of many other supernovae are difficult to detect in the complex nebulosity.

Black hole VFTS 243

An x-ray quiet black hole was discovered in the Tarantula Nebula, the first outside of the Milky Way Galaxy that does not radiate strongly. The black hole has a mass of at least nine solar masses and is in a circular orbit with its 25 solar mass blue giant companion VFTS 243.

Video

References

External links

Tarantula Nebula on WikiSky: DSS2, SDSS, GALEX, IRAS, Hydrogen α, X-Ray, Astrophoto, Sky Map, Articles and images APOD Images: 2003 August 23 & 2010 May 18 SEDS Data: NGC 2070, The Tarantula Nebula Hubble Space Telescope Images of: The Tarantula Nebula Archived 2008-10-28 at the Wayback Machine European Southern Observatory Image of: The Tarantula Nebula Archived 2009-08-03 at the Wayback Machine The Scale of the Universe (Astronomy Picture of the Day 2012 March 12) Crowther, Paul. "Tarantula Nebula and Its Huge Stars". Deep Space Videos. Brady Haran.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Tarantula Nebula

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Tarantula Nebula claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In astronomy, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Tarantula Nebula before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Tarantula Nebula ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Tarantula Nebula

In research: Tarantula Nebula appears in astronomy research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Tarantula Nebula in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Tarantula Nebula is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Astronomical objects discovered in 1751, Caldwell objects, Dorado, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Tarantula Nebula outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Tarantula Nebula in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Tarantula Nebula means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Tarantula Nebula out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Tarantula Nebula in simple terms?

Why does Tarantula Nebula matter?

Because it connects several astronomy ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Tarantula Nebula?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Tarantula Nebula.